


Red Eyes, Take Warning

by KazuSakai



Series: Persona 5 Drabble [4]
Category: Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Despair!Akira, Gen, Manipulative!Akira, Mentions of SHSL!Despair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-24
Updated: 2017-05-24
Packaged: 2018-11-04 07:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10986573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KazuSakai/pseuds/KazuSakai
Summary: His eyes were often black. Keyword:often.It sometimes turn red. And red is the color ofdespair.





	Red Eyes, Take Warning

**Author's Note:**

> God, the archive is so full of so much sweetness, I can't take the sugar anymore! I want something **dark**.
> 
> And it's because I got pulled back into the Dangan Ronpa fandom lately.
> 
> Blame Akira's red eyes in his All Out Attack. Them eyes reminded me of those SHSL!Despair.

“Geez. You really are a son of a bitch. A real piece of shit, you know that?”

“A-ah! I know that…”

“Good. Because I’ll have you use this stupid probation you got yourself into for my plans, got it? Don’t even think that you can slack off ‘cause you aren’t with me! Not even that stinky pig is that stupid to stand up against a drunk.”

“A-ah… I guess…?”

“Anyway, because you fucked this up so bad, you better do this perfectly. Hmm… Just to ensure, I’ll have your account play with. You like that, right? You manwhore!?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Hmph. And I thought you can get in the Reserve Course at this opening. You really made me  hope , you know that Akira?”

“I-I will do my best!”

“Oh you will. Or I’ll come there personally and gun you down over and over and over again!”

“!!!”

“I’ll even have that pig do the coup de gras herself personally!”

* * *

His cousin’s plans were perfect. But for that perfection to come into reality, many things must be done first. That’s where he came in.

While she and her sister do their thing back there, he’ll have to do with the hand he had been dealt with. To others, messing with the government was an impossible idea. But that’s what made the entire situation so…  full of despair .

Situations like that were their _ambrosia_.

In their plans, all Akira had to do was to spread and plan the seeds of Despair before _the Incident_ starts. Or... he could start up the plans a bit earlier. Either way, it would certainly bring a unique flavor of despair to them after knowing he had accelerated their plans without any permission. He learned and picked up a thing or two from her favorite cousin, he was absolutely certain he can do.

* * *

It was surprising to know that a part of their world was hidden away in a supernatural barrier only accessible with a spam mail attached application. Though the app wasn't that surprising since there were a couple of things her cousin had showed to her in her own schemes, the fact it **can** be accessed by a phone was.

From what the… cat was saying, it was where desires were made manifest. Emotions and feelings. **When** he pull this off, he can make use of the place for their plans.

Especially when the cat admitted certain objects there affects the targeted person in actual reality. If such desires can be tampered with, it would not be impossible for him to influence certain people easily. He still have to work on his words, though.

He might have been ‘infected _’_ by his other cousin’s passiveness and _she_ doesn’t want that at the moment. So he needed to work on his… influence. After all, practice was still a thing in a world full of Ultimates.

And it seemed he have two volunteers for him to work on.

* * *

Akira doesn’t hope, at all. No, it was an anathema to the way of life that he had been living on ever since he was born, despite his own parents’ acts on stopping it. But it was inevitable for him to feel it, even a smidgen of it, since both hope _and_ despair are sides of the same coin.

He tasted the small ray of hope the blond that he accompanied with back into the otherworld had and it was _disgusting._ No wonder she and her sister embraced despair willingly, it was making him to want to be affectionate and be _sympathetic_ to the blond. It was sickening. So he had no choice but to crush that hope right at the bud.

Reminding him that even though he _might_ have a chance to get the ‘bastard’ back, it won’t change the fact plans of expelling him was already on the way. Kamoshida was a teacher, after all. Expulsions had a very long process in order to be enacted and by the time he could… ‘change his heart’, the board of trustees _and_ the Principal of the Academy would have read it and most likely acknowledged the reasonings Kamoshida used.

It wasn’t like the blond had high and stable grades from what Akira got from snooping around the faculty office and the student body. Though Akira had received the same threat, it wasn’t a big deal for him to be concerned with it. It wasn’t really despair inducing to him since Kamoshida really had no legit reason for him to be expelled. He finally understood, coincidentally, the disappointment _she_ often spat with him and his other cousin.

He also reminded him of the truth that even though he _might_ find a way to end the abuse in reality through the otherworld, the fact they let it happen in the first place still exist. Hoping that they’ll start to resist being abused after being ‘rescued’ was futile since they did went ahead and stayed being abused.

‘Once tasted, you can never go back!’ ...So goes the saying. Impassiveness do not go away, if not at all.

Pointing out that they couldn’t was also stupid, to be honest, Akira reminded to the blond. It because they had **hoped** someone would step in and do their shit instead of themselves was the real reason. They didn’t do a thing to change their status quo by even leaving, even though they knew they’re being abused already. And also they were getting something out of it also played in their decision to embrace the situation.

More importantly, it was also very rude and disrespectful of him to ignore their decision if he ‘changed Kamoshida’s heart’.

“So even if you pull this plan of yours, there’s no **hope** it will change things for the better. You will only broke their dreams of reaching the goal they worked so hard on. And you won’t even be appreciated because of it.”

“Really. They’ll only see you as the one who _stole_ their futures,” Akira spat, walking out if the castle gates and leaving the blond standing right in front of the large doors. “Just like how you let Kamoshida steal yours. Isn’t that hopeless, right?!”

The **despair** in his eyes was exquisite. Akira now understood why _she_ wants it.

* * *

 

The cat was a ‘no go’ to work on, since it decided to leave him alone after witnessing him ‘breaking’ the blond down. Nonetheless, Akira would be able to do it in the end. The despair of failing was only more sweet if his previous success rates were high. Very high.

In any case, Ryuji, the blond’s apparent name, was deep in despair after Akira confronted him of his reality. Just because they’re in a different dimension doesn't mean their reality disappeared. Besides, hoping for the best was nauseatingly disgusting. What good that hope did in the end?

Only lead to despair and he only reminded Ryuji the truth of his situation.

But inadvertently, or probably unfortunately, Ryuji saw him as something different. Maybe it was because he’s the one that reminded him of the truth or the one that was with him in the otherworld, but Ryuji sought out his words.

“Then **what** should I do then?!”

Akira smirked. “Face the truth.”

The surprise on his face fits him but Akira knew his words had to supplemented before it would be accepted.

“You’ll still be expelled, right? Why not let him feel the **despair** you’re feeling right now? In the end, you would be out of this place soon enough, which means you’ll be free from any consequences.”

He raised both his arms, as if to embrace the entire castle. “And this is a world full of desires and wants! I’m sure can make that _other_ Kamoshida feel your pain. Make him feel despair like what you’re feeling now.”

With a bow, he ended. “He’s not even the _real_ Kamoshida, right? Just a fake but a fake does have it purposes too.”

The nods he was doing proved to Akira it went through.

* * *

He decided to leave the expulsions alone _and_ left the blond to do his thing alone in the castle. Instead, he focused on more worthwhile endeavors. Tinkering with the app showed there was the option to see the source code, as it was the norm nowadays for any application on various OS of phones. A big mistake if one see it using a programmer’s perspective as it would allow them to create a similar app with changes they added or configured.

Before he was sent in Tokyo, which was all thanks to his _hopeful_ parents in a chance to ‘rehabilitate’ their ‘wayward’ son, he learned **a lot** from his cousins. Being classmates with such amazing people in today’s generation sure did have their perks. Akira just shivered at the lost chance he had in even setting a foot at the campus. It was just so full of **despair** , it’s ecstatic.

Though he needed a laptop or something with a higher specifications in it to create the modded app, the current version he had was still viable to his plans. Some brute forcing through using some modified administrative permissions and he found himself with a Navigation app that doesn't require keywords to activate. He basically made the app recognize his phone as a administrative terminal of the entire system, easing his way through the new dimension he discovered.

It wasn't without limitations, though. Only a total of four uses and then the system would recognize his modifications, instantly removing his access rights from the app. Such a mysterious system for a mysterious application. Him dabbling into unknown waters was giving him the thrills, especially when it has the possibility of him endangering him in reality. The app **do** use his phone’s GPS as a tracker or a point of interest.

Danger was a real threat and it was beautiful.

As he made plans to explore the rest of the unknown dimension and experiment with the information he was given by that being, he noticed a black cat was trailing the girl who was at the seat in front of his. The girl, who was certainly appealing than the rest of the girls in their class, was clearly distraught over something. Someone being distraught was commonplace in the world, but for someone like her that was rumored to be a model at some magazine was… intriguing.

* * *

She was really a model and had a best friend in a girl whose role was something important in the school's volleyball team. The same team whose coach was the teacher that was threatening him and the blond with expulsions. The latest scoop he squeezed from that upperclassman, who would absolutely succeed in the tabloid industry, included her doing _favors_ for the coach to ensure her best friend’s slot in the team **and** the best friend doing the same thing for her. Non-verbatim, of course, but similar situations.

Situations that were absolutely hopeless in his eyes. A cycle of eternal despair was already happening and he wasn’t even starting yet! Oh how wonderful. Akira now understood why his cousin was drooling at seemingly unsuspecting times. He almost drooled in the hallways because of it.

He stopped at the restrooms before classes, though, due to him appearing indecent wasn’t allowed. What he found there was the said volleyball varsity leaning by the girl’s restroom, clenching her hands as if praying to a god. She was… clinging to hope. Hope that he instantly recognized and theorized its true contents the moment he approached her slowly, pretending to be a concerned student.

Shiho, her name was, shook when he caught her there at the corridor, quickly apologizing for making a scene. Obviously clinging to a semblance of normalcy, Shiho smiled and asked about him and his reasons for there. Which was absolutely an indirect method of saying ‘fuck off’.

That didn’t stopped Akira from his sudden want to push the girl to true despair. He was there to prepare the capital of their country to her plans and every small thing he did would affect the bigger picture in a unique way. The school’s volleyball varsity plunging headfirst into despair would certainly shake things up, for a start.

It was also very _nice_ of Shiho to supply him with the necessary points to push her to the edge. Her concerns about Ann, her best friend, her reputation, her family, herself, and her future. She all told her him about it, despite speaking only a few words. It was apparent on her words, after looking beyond the lines, and the visual and audio cue she has been dropping in their conversation. All regret and a minimum amount of hope that was enough to keep her  from despairing.

“But do you really think she doesn’t know about it? Your friend, I mean?” he asked, concern flaunted in his face. “I can’t really say for her or for you but… If I was her, I wouldn’t let you be alone.”

“...what?”

“From what you’re saying, you want me to believe you’re alright yet after that you’re saying things of ‘ _this is for her_ ’.”

“I-I n-never said tha-”

“But I heard it. I heard it through your voice and your face. Your expressions, they betrayed you by showing me you want someone to help you. You hope that you’ll be helped.”

“...”

Denial **is** really a bad and lethal thing to do.

“Hope that… is useless.”

“...Just what are you saying here?” she now asked, a bite now evident in her tone. “What do you even know? I’m all saying is that you shouldn’t be concerned about the rumors in the school!”

“Rumors that everyone pretty much knew about. But why aren’t you including your own rumors? You know… The ones revolving around you.”

Shiho was stunned still.

“Even I have heard about it. But this is me we’re talking about here. A new transfer student to the school and instantly heard very _disturbing_ rumors.”

“...you are very rude.”

Akira inwardly smirked at that remark and continued on, showing no change in expression.

“Huh. You even heard rumors about me, too? So how could your best friend doesn’t know and do about it? She’s your best friend, right?”

The girl in front of him was now gritting her teeth, unknowingly complementing the beaten and absolutely abused body of hers.

“Shiho-san, your best friend you’re talking about, she’s the one in front of me. The same Takamaki Ann, right? From what I’ve seen the entire day, she was worried…”

A burst of relief seemed to explode the area that Akira had to stop his grin from forming. How hopeful.

“...worried about her job. That’s why she left earlier, am I right Shiho-san? That’s not really something a **best friend** would do! So I can say for sure, she doesn’t care at all!”

“ **How can you say that?!** ”

“How can I? It’s absolutely, 100%, true, Shiho-san. You can check it for yourself. But I’m sure she’ll deny it. After all, she needs your… you know, status.”

“...shut up.”

“Wasn’t she a foreigner? Made me wonder why a girl like her became your best friend, considering you. For starters, you… Nah, I can’t say it. It would be an insult to the others.”

“... **shut up**.”

“I think I understand now why he’s doing it. You really are pathetic. Am I to believe now that you became a varsity with your skills, which is in my honest opinion, are severely lacking. Perhaps it is more believable that you are using _that_ to be more famous. More famous that her, since a scandal can certainly boost one’s status.”

“ **Shut up!** ”

She ran away, scrambling away from his slow, steady steps to her and leaving Akira on the floor of the hallway, acting like he had been knocked by the girl. By now, the hallway had people peeking out of their rooms, seeing her over him with an angry expression on her face. Sensing the people’s stares, she looked around and ran away the moment she realized the position she was in.

Whispers ran amok, at which Akira heard a couple.

_‘Wasn’t that the delinquent transfer student?’_

_'He was on the floor.’_

_'Suzui-chan was above him!’_

_‘Did she knocked him down?!’_

_‘That’s impossible! The reverse is true!’_

_‘But wasn’t she depressed a moment ago?’_

_‘So… He tried to help her?’_

_‘Probably.’_

_‘Oh my gosh.’_

_‘I heard volleyball players are needed to be strong.’_

_‘...Very strong. Shujin’s the champion last year!’_

Bad reputation from a misunderstanding, it will only ease the pain. Akira hid the smile he made as he stood up and walked back to his classroom. If she wasn’t in despair yet, he’ll just work on it the next day.

* * *

The bitch jumped, right in the middle of the day and from the school rooftops. How the fuck did she climbed the metal wires was a mystery but despair certainly allowed people to overcome their limits. And what beautiful despair she must had to push her into suicide.

The fall was quite award-winning and strange for a volleyball player, for it was dive he saw once done by a swimmer that jumped at a very tall jumping platform. With her head first approaching ground zero and her additional force to hasten her own fall, the hope people had she’d survive brought despair to them.

Her neck was completely snapped, due to the weight of her body and the effect of gravity on it. Akira felt it was a lousy way to die but she felt Shiho saw true despair before she jumped.

After all, he was looking at her at the window when she had positioned herself and she also saw him watching her there, eye contact and all the bullshit with the emotions in it.

She wavered for a minute but he smiled and pointed to his classroom and waved at her, which really pushed her into doing it. True Despair in action really was something.

Her best friend, or ex-best friend, came out of their classroom and screamed like hell before scrambling down to the courtyard, snot and tears streaking her entire face. Incomparable to the despair her dead best friend had earlier.

At the corner of his eyesight, Akira saw the blond he left alone at the other dimension staring lifelessly at the scene a floor below them. Ensuring nobody saw him approach the guy, he whispered in his ear.

“She chose her way out. In a way, she escaped. On her own.”

Ryuji continued staring at the scene beyond the window. Some had already called an ambulance, but it was too late. The neck was too bent for any hope to survive.

“She once hoped for her best friend to save her. But she didn’t. She never did. And hope didn’t helped her at all.”

With a pat on his back, he finished and left without expecting a response. “Despair made her to act. What about you?”

* * *

He finally decided to explore the otherworld after the death of Shiho happened. And his first destination was the castle he left behind to the blond to explore. Akira wanted something familiar to start with, so he went in and found himself staring once again the distortion of their school.

There he cautiously walked the gallows and hallways of the castle, searching for something that would piqued his interest. Akira initially expected that something would be the ‘king’ finding him but instead he found the cat and the model walking down the hallways leading to the kitchen area of the castle.

Eavesdropping, he discovered the cat went to sought out another accomplice in its ventures after Akira had demolished Ryuji’s will to explore. And it couldn’t convince him to go with it since Akira was overly suspicious of talking mascots. And it was sketchy from the very first time he met it.

Very sketchy.

Unfortunately for the two, the cat got booted out of the place after one of the roaming guards caught them, before dragging the model to an area in the castle. Following them closely, he overheard from the twisted ‘king’ declaring to the chained down girl all the rumors were true, which really didn’t surprised Akira. Shiho’s injuries were too severe for training mishaps.

So when the ‘king’ and the guards left the chained girl alone, he went in. The girl had hope she could take revenge on Kamoshida after hearing the words of the now-absent cat. He felt it was sworn duty to crush that hope and let despair blossom instead. Therefore, Akira _had_ to talk with her.

When he approached her, she was out of herself, mumbling words of regret and anger. Akira smiled at the scene. Amidst the gaudy looking chains and environment, she was able to concentrate on what was important to her. Herself.

Because she felt guilty, she wanted to do something about it. And the course she thought she had to do was to take on others. He had to applaud on her reasoning, despite it made by her apparent delirious state.

Words thrown out by their distorted teacher had affected the model severely, enough to induce her self-loathing and self-justification of her past actions. Not that it would help her, truth to be told.

“It won’t bring your friend in the end,” he said, walking slowly on the carpeted floor towards her. “She’s dead and there’s nothing you could do to change it.”

“H-how are you…?”

“Hmm?” He shook his head. “I guess you really need to distract yourself in order to escape the truth. What a pitiful girl.”

“Pitiful? No, why are you here? And how were you-”

“That’s unimportant now. What is more important is **you** ,” Akira declared, pointing his finger to her. “Answer me. Why did you even come here? Answer it truthfully.”

She went silent, head ducked down and entire body hanging on her chained arms.

“Still won’t admit the truth? That it was your fault _she_ died?”

The girl exploded at that. “It isn’t my fault! It’s Kamoshida’s! He’s the one that made Shiho like that! He made Shiho **kill** herself!”

Akira nodded his head. “Yeah, keep on saying that. Then should I also take that it was also Kamoshida’s fault that our classes got cancelled? What a way to blame it to others, Takamaki- _san.”_

“What are you getting at…?”

“I heard Kamoshida admitted he only went for Suzui-san because… You know. Because of you.”

She stopped still, the rattle of the chains on her arms gone.

“He did, didn’t he? He admitted it right in front of you and I heard it completely.” He chuckled. “What kind of friend were you to push that fate on your best friend, Takamaki-san?”

He clapped his hand suddenly, catching her attention back. “Oh wait. Was it because she really _wasn’t?_ ”

“N-no! She’s really my best friend! We were-”

“News flash, Takamaki-san! She’s dead so use the proper tenses of the verbs. It’s also important because what you’ve been acting these past days doesn't cement that statement of yours.”

She started struggling on her chains again. Not bothering to stop, Akira continued on.

“The day before she died, we bumped by the hallway and we talked. But I doubt you even heard about it, right? Can you tell me why?”

“I… I went home.”

“Huh. Suzui-san complained her best friend wasn’t spending time with her anymore, you know. It was quite sad to hear but I reasoned that maybe you’re just busy. Can you guess what happened next?”

Her eyes were now becoming lifeless. “I… heard. She knocked you down. People talked about it this morning in the shoe lockers. How she must be so angry and frustrated to even touch you.”

“Yeah, she knocked me down. Me, the new transfer student. Gee, what kind of a warm welcome was that from a fellow student. But that was your fault, right? You abandoned her.”

Her shock was apparent now; stiff limbs and a face full of realization. “You left her alone after you found no more use of her. ‘She’s a volleyball varsity now, so she must have new friends!’ That's what you thought, huh?”

“No! She depended on me! Her problems, all of that, she told me! She trusted me!”

A smirk crossed his face.

“And that trust was wasted on you. She died, after all. How **awful** she must have felt all those days she expected, no, she **trusted** you’ll help her, only to be relayed on the sides. Was your job that important to ignore her?”

“...no. But that wasn’t it!” She regained a bit of a fight in her, now looking at Akira straight on. “I was distancing away from her so that Kamoshida wouldn’t remove her from the team!”

The black haired teen couldn't help but laugh. “Oh my god. This is beautiful. She trusted you but you couldn't even trust her yourself! Wow. She really wasn't your best friend at all!”

“...what? I was doing it to-”

“Do you really believe he would gone through that? Suzui-san was an important and well-experienced volleyball player, she was the MVP last year from what I heard. It would cause the entire team to fall if she was taken out of the team. Kamoshida couldn't do that, the school will pay for it if he did.”

“You’re twisting the truth!”

“It **is** the truth. What's also true is that you didn't trust your ‘best friend’ and her talents. If you trusted her…”

“...it’s… it's all my fault…?”

“Yes. It is.”

The girl shook her head and glared at him, momentarily focused again. “A-and how… How can you say that? Its his fault! Not mine!”

Akira stepped back and started walking around her, slowly counting his fingers. “One, you left her alone. Two, you didn't trust her. Three, you ignored her cries for help. Four, and this the most important of them all, Snow White.” He pointed a finger at her. “You felt guilty!”

“...!”

“Guilt only comes to those who have done wrong in their life. It's because they knew deep down they did a mistake so bad they have to make amends to it. Isn't that why you are here? You want to ‘punish’ Kamoshida.”

“...guilty? Me?”

“You should be punishing yourself instead. Blaming others is really the worst, you know. Making yourself all clean and pure when the truth you're really dirty inside.”

“...”

Seeing he can't get anything more from her, he left the room and the girl wallowing in her despair behind.

He had one more thing to do.

* * *

It was quite easy to find the pathetic ‘king’ of the castle. From the visual cues littering the area, it was understandable to have the place’s ‘ruler’ be at the Throne Room. And every Throne Room would be in the deepest and most ‘secure’ place in the castle.

Though with the twists and almost labyrinthine layout of the place, Akira had doubts it was even used as an actual Throne Room in the first place.

His earlier companion, Sakamoto-san, was also in the area and probably spent days and probably entire nights hounding down the ‘king’. The incident was the only day he was at school, from what he had heard of the school's peanut gallery, which meant ever since they stumbled upon the castle, he was there.

The transfer student had to fight the laugh coming from the deepest part of his self. The stupid blond was only ensuring his expulsion at this rate!

Arriving at the Throne Room, which was only an elevator (lift, accurately) ride away from the Main Hall, he was surprised at how pitiful the entire situation. He had met a couple of puppets in the hallways, curious on their entire purpose the entire time, but to think it was only to serve the role of the ‘king’s loyal subjects’ startled him a bit.

The ones at the dungeons were most likely the ones that rebelled. Which really doesn't speak much on Kamoshida’s mind at all if he was really thinking there was a need to punish his loyal subjects. A ‘king’ doesn't have the time to waste on such lowlife. And if possible, shouldn't.

With a bow, he introduced himself as a simple newcomer to his realm, playing along on the farce Kamoshida believes deeply in reality. After all, a king has no jurisdiction on those that aren’t his subjects. Unless he isn't.

It was easy to rile up the ‘king’. Remarks on the size of his realm and the need to constantly waste time in hearing praises, the ‘king’ had almost accosted him to the dungeons if it weren't for Akira’s quick thinking. “Your Majesty, all I’m saying is advice, not criticism.” That made him call off the approaching guards to Akira.

Ah, the almighty title all rulers want to hear. Always works in a pinch.

“And why is it advice? Sounds to me, you are seeking punishment yourself.”

“But it is the truth, Your Majesty. Your realm is too small for a king. As I noticed the moment I arrived, your rule is limited only to the walls of this castle, right? Why don’t you expand it further?”

The caped persona laughed at that, “And why should I waste my time on doing that? I have all I need here!”

“Why, to be an actual king, of course. Kings do **not** have small realms of their rule, but have large, expansive lands instead. Unless… You aren't a king at all, Your Majesty?”

“...Do not anger me, you plebeian. You have no idea what you are talking about.”

Akira smirked at that. Oh, he does. “Weren't you an Olympic Athlete before becoming a teacher? Why did you settle for that? Being a teacher when you can be what you used to be again?”

“Times have changed. I'm no longer as strong and agile as my past self did but my power is enough to make my subjects to behave. Though some are thinking otherwise due to my admittedly lessened strength.”All the while the king, who was angry a moment ago, was looking down on the carpeted floor.

He bowed slightly, showing faked regret and sympathy. “I deeply apologize for bringing up that matter, Your Majesty. It appears you have been removed from your throne and had been thrown into this small portion of your actual land to rule over. It is saddenning to see this happen in front of my own two eyes.”

The yellow-eyed ‘king’ took off the crown on his head and stared wistfully at it. “I, too, am saddened of these sudden turn of events. But all I can do is to enforce my rule over my subjects as they're the only ones left of my once glorious kingdom.”

“But you can still do that, Your Majesty.” The ‘king’ now stared at Akira with interest in his eyes. “Why settle for the school? Why don't you expand your territory by teaching out to more possible subjects? And by reaching out, I meant doing what you are best at.” Keeping it vague at possible will make them think it was their own ideas.

“...you may have a point in this.”

“Exactly. You're wasting here, Your Majesty. By not continuously expanding your realm, your area will collapse sooner than you expected. Haven't you noticed rebellions have risen in number since last year? It is because they're restricted in such small realm.”

He backed slowly, reaching the doors in a moment. “I'm advising you Your Majesty to take action and not waste your time on such trivial things. By having more supporters, you'll have more people in your realm too.”

Before Kamoshida could make an answer, the doors have already been closed and Akira was already on his way back to the girl he talked to earlier. He has to finish what he started.

* * *

The scene he arrived to was the same as the one he had left behind, the girl still chained to the cross-like structure and none of the surrounding candles that lit the small room touched nor moved. Not even the rustled carpet was fixed, which meant no one came into the room after he had left. Akira had a feeling that the blond he spotted roaming the hallways a while ago might have decided to sneak and take a peek on what’s inside but apparently that wasn’t the case.

In any case, whether or not someone came into the room wasn’t his concern. His concern was to finish what he started with the chained girl, and that was to let her out of the dimension and have do what she have to do. After all, she was no use in the dimension in her current state; nor was she any use at all, now that he thought about it.

She was just a pitiful girl who felt guilty over he incompetence and lack of concern to her so-called best friend. The same best friend who had hoped she would come and save her from the woes she was face at, only to be faced with despair at the absence of action from her best friend. So bad her despair was, only death was the answer she found to her woes. And the answer she found wasn’t met with approval with the best friend she had left behind.

As Akira made his presence known to the girl by making his steps loud on the cemented floor, he thought back on her background. From what he got from snooping around and eavesdropping at several of their schoolmates and even the teachers in their school, she was a model that came from a family of designers. She’s a foreigner and seldomly have her parents attend the PTA due to the jobs both have. It made Akira wonder how in the world did the girl’s parents even conceived her with the way they rarely stayed on one spot. A hired help was the only one that seemed to raised her, from the gossip she heard, and rumored to have decided to work considering how boring it must have been in her house.

And surprise, surprise. He also found out from a student at the neighboring class that she was also classmates with the blond he accompanied some time ago, back in middle school. What a small world after all!

“So, have you thought on what you’re going to do now?” he asked, stopping in front of her, ducked and looked up to make a glance at her face. There were tears dripping on her cheeks and with the way there stains on the carpet below her,  she was crying for quite some time. “Leaving you here alone will leave a bad taste in my mouth, you know. I heard that if you spent a very long time here, you can’t go back in the real world any more. Wouldn’t that be sad?”

She made no reply to him. Not that it would dissuade him from stopping. “I mean, you have a job, right? Wouldn’t they get angry at you if you disappeared for no reason at all? After all, it was more important than spending time with Suzui-san, right? You said that to her, don’t forget that.”

“It was just an excuse! And why are you still here?! Haven’t you got enough of repeating all those stuff to me?! It’s my fault, I know that now!”

Oh, he hasn't. Not a single iota of satisfaction was made. “I’m not the one here who hasn’t acknowledged what they must do with their life now. We’re talking about you here. Can you see what that thinking brought you?” He knelt down on the floor, now looking up to her face with a serene expression. “You’re chained here by the fake teacher all because you want to make him pay. Make him pay for something he entirely had nothing to do about. Isn’t that wrong? Making someone pay for your own mistakes?”

“B-but-”

“But what, Takamaki- _san_ ? ‘ _But it’s Kamoshida’s fault!’_ Please, don’t fool yourself, Takamaki- _san_. You’re only making things worse. Accept the truth and work on it, okay?”

“What truth?! That-”

“No. That’s not the truth. You know what’s true, right?

“That it’s… it’s…”

“It’s your fault.”

“...”

“Suzui-san died because of you. You know that.”

“...accept the truth.”

“Yes, accept the truth. And work on it. Isn’t it because you have a job that you can’t help her, right?” Now they’re getting to something!

“...”

“I can’t hear you.”

“...”

Sighing, he got up and pulled out a hairpin from his pockets. With a fumble here and there, Akira got the cuffs on her arms opened, making the girl fall on her knees instantly. He didn’t bother to help her up and instead made his way to the door.

Before he closed the door on the way out, he spoke to her one last time. “You now know what to do. It’s up to you whether or not you’ll act on it. Just so you know, and it doesn’t hurt to repeat it again, you shouldn’t blame others on your own mistakes. It’s quite unbecoming for someone like you.”

* * *

Although there’s always the possibility that his words to them would be proven untrue or wrong in time, it doesn’t bother Akira at all. The chance that his work would fail excite him instead. It **is** , after all, his way of life. The possibility of his own demise and the possibility of giving others their own demise… It’s his calling.

The thought of the two confronting him and proving him wrong brought a shiver and a smile to his face. It was always a possibility that could happen. But there’s also the chance that instead of him, they would target others, causing them to feel despair instead.

Sakamoto’s heartfelt pain of his inability to help would push him to have others feel his own pain. Either in the real world or in that other dimension, unknowingly he’s hurting his own classmates’ other versions. He witnessed one time the blond beat up a fake and discovered later to find the real one all knocked out without anyone touching him. Pitiful guy, he was already drowned in bandages and to see his own eyes roll up in the middle of class was really pitiful.

Not really despairful, in the very least. He didn’t have much influence in their class aside from being a member of the volleyball team.

Speaking of volleyball, he heard that Kamoshida had decided to do weekend session and have other students from other schools participate. Something like a free-for-all volleyball workshop. Coming from a Olympic medalist, it drove the public into frenzy due to the acclaimed teachings that would come from the teacher.

It made him wonder what kind of rumors, that were actually true, would come out from it. Nonetheless, the ‘realm’ of the king would expand in the near future.

As he made his way to the station, Akira saw the girl in front of his seat staring absently at her phone. Making sure he won’t be noticed, he read its contents quickly.

_‘Sorry, your slot in today’s shoot was replaced by someone else. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience we caused.’_

“...but that was the last… Shiho… If I couldn’t… What should I…”

He left the girl alone. It was obvious that with her mind not focused on her work, her bosses wouldn’t want her back. Pitiful.

When he turned around, Akira saw their Student Council President slowly but surely walk to the ticketing booth. It was strange for her to come out and walk out in the streets of Shibuya. His curiosity piqued, he hid behind a pillar and eavesdropped on her.

“Why did I have to do this? Just because I’m the Council’s President doesn’t mean I know about the blackmails.”

Ah. Another target. This would be interesting.

**Author's Note:**

> Akira's the cousin of Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba, if anyone's still confused.  
> He was meant to be enrolled into the Reserve Course Department of Hope's Peak but he decided to beat up a politician we know who that is so that he could prepare the capital for the wave of Despair that will happen in the future.  
> And yes, after living with the SHSL!Analyst and the SHSL!Soldier for a very long time, he got some of their quirks, alright?


End file.
